A Comparative Study of Clinical Presentation of Scrub Typhus Patients between Pre and Post Monsoon Clusters in a Tertiary Care Hospital in Kolkata

ABSTRACT

Background: Scrub typhus is an endemic zoonoses, caused by Orientia (formerly Rickettsia) tsutsugamushi and transmitted through the chiggers of the genus Leptotrombidium. Humans are accidental hosts and are infected through the vector mites during a blood meal. Scrub typhus is a reemerging cause of Acute Undifferentiated Fever in India as well as Worldwide. Previously considered a seasonal disease with distribution mainly in the rural areas, cases are being increasingly recognized in the Metropolitan Cities and beyond the Monsoon months. Objective: In this study, we present a comparative clinical data of Scrub Typhus cases presenting during the wet Postmonsoon months (August to November) with those presenting during the dry summer months (April-May) in a Tertiary Care Teaching Hospital in Kolkata